The present invention relates to a method of safeguarding operation of an internal combustion engine, particularly of a Diesel engine having a fuel tank, a fuel metering device, an electrically controlled fuel pump for supplying fuel from the tank to the metering device, means for injecting fuel into cylinders of the engine in response to momentary operational conditions of the engine.
To supply fuel from a tank to fuel metering systems of an internal combustion engine via electrically controlled fuel pumps is known from prior art. The metering systems can include carburators of an arbitrary shape and design or arbitrary fuel injection devices. In the case of self-igniting internal combustion engines (Diesel engines) there are usually provided mechanically driven fuel injection pumps whose delivery of fuel to be injected is determined by a hydraulic or magnetic control mechanism. Even in the latter case fuel is supplied to a high pressure fuel injection pump via a low pressure electrically controlled fuel supply pump. Especially in the case of Diesel engines the safety considerations must be taken into account because a control rod which determines the delivered fuel quantity in series connected fuel injection pumps may become accidentally clamped for example due to the intrusion of a foreign particle or due to the effect of other interferences and an emergency situation in the engine operation may occur.